Help us raise money

Normally I write this portion of the team page. I have been writing it for eight years and have noticed that I am repeating myself often. This year Lisa wrote a wonderful  story I think you will like. Maybe I can talk her into writing it every year. 

You just never know.  

Things are clicking along.   You’re going to work, spending time with family and friends, being involved in the community, doing projects, taking vacations, doing the regular dentist and doctor appointments.  And all is good, until it isn’t.

Maybe it’s you.  Or your partner, your child, another family member, or a friend.  Maybe it’s a kidney.  Liver.    Heart.  Lung.  Eye.   And it requires a transplanted organ.   Or maybe it’s bone cancer or simply a dental implant and a bone graft is needed.  Perhaps the heart only needs new valves.  Or veins and vascular tissue are needed during a major surgery.  It could be tendons and ligaments to rebuild torn joints and repair mobility injuries.  Skin may be needed to treat severe burn injuries.  

For our family, it’s been the heart - a genetic mutation affecting several members.  Two transplants so far.  Thank God for the donors and their families for their life-saving generosity. And thank God for Donor Network West for their help in arranging, matching and transporting the new hearts to Paul and Brian; and for the counseling and services they provide to donor families.

We would have lost Brian in 2016 and Paul in 2017 if not for organ donors, Donor Network West, and doctors and surgeons at Kaiser and Stanford.  What a humbling and life-changing experience!  Of course I am grateful for those who participated in the transplant process, but the gratefulness I feel for everyone and everything in my life overflows.   In the first several weeks after transplant Paul would cry at the drop of a hat, overcome with emotion, usually joyful.  Jacqueline and Julia said they gave him a “softy” heart.  It was a side effect of one of the drugs, the doctors said.  But what’s my excuse?  Why am I feeling emotional and joyful still?  It is the gratefulness of his life, and life in general despite its imperfections.  Sometimes I wonder how many other people did those same donors save or help?  How many others are profoundly grateful for and changed by the gift they received?

Paying it forward sounds so cliché, but I feel a strong desire to be an organ donor and support Donor Network West. The chance to give other people the gift of hope, healing, and living to greet their future means a lot to me.

You never know when you or someone in your life may need a donor.  If and when it happens, you will also need Donor Network West.

Lisa Elliott

BIG AL'S PIZZA

Your pizza is ready. Join us for the fun.

Unfortunately Lisa and I cannot make it this year but I know there is a large group of friends and family there supporting this great cause. We will be there in spirit walking remotely.

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Saturday, September 12, 2026, 7:30am                                                                  Rancho San Ramone Community Park                                                                       1998 Rancho park Loop, San Ramone